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Information on Cambridge Glass

The Cambridge Glass Company opened its factory doors at the turn of the twentieth century. The early heavy pressed patterns of the Depression Era gave way to colored glass and their famous "Rosepoint" etchings after World War II. Though the company shut down in 1958, Cambridge glass is still highly-sought by today&'s collectors.

Origins
- In 1873, a group of businessmen from Cambridge, Ohio sold their plans for a new glass-producing factory to the National Glass Company of Pennsylvania. The Cambridge Glass Company factory opened in 1902.
Early Designs
- Most of the company&'s early pressed patterns were designed by Arthur J. Bennett, an Englishman hired to manage the factory. In 1907, Bennett liquidated his life savings and purchased the factory.
The Depression
- The Cambridge Glass Company weathered the Depression mainly by avoiding rapid expansion. The company then grew considerably through the 1940s, the period of its most successful patterns and colors. Cambridge was best known for its "Rosepoint" etching, "Nude Stems" line and the Crown Tuscan, Royal Blue and Heatherbloom colors. However, after World War II, sales dropped substantially, and operations shut down in the late 1950s.
Categorization
- Cambridge glassware is categorized as “elegant glass,” a type of high-quality, special-occasion glassware often given as wedding presents. Unlike other Depression-era glass, elegant glass was often thin, finely polished and etched or cut.
Collecting Tips
- The company&'s most familiar trademark is a “C” enclosed in a triangle, but according to the Centennial Antiques website, most Cambridge glass was unmarked. National Cambridge Collectors, Inc. has annual conventions and auctions, and a museum in Cambridge.

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